Approximately 2,000 employees from the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the Department of Taxation and Finance recently moved into their new $84 million, 15-story headquarters at 110 State Street in Albany, New York. This attractive 450,000-square-foot office building is the final piece of the Albany Plan that brings state workers back to an urban core that had lost both office and retail businesses in recent decades. Additionally, it will encourage more businesses to invest in the downtown area and will provide an increase in commerce for the current downtown merchants. Included in this project is an attached concrete parking garage with 350 spaces.

Overall plan dimensions for a typical floor are 104-by-304-feet. In the 104-foot direction, there are three spans: 34 feet 6 inches, 30 feet 6 inches, and 34 feet 6 inches. In the other direction, there are nine spans, eight of which are 30 feet 0 inches and one that is 50 feet 0 inches. The 50-foot span is required to span the building over Howard Street. A nine-inch-thick post-tensioned concrete flat slab is utilized for the floor system, along with 18-inch deep perimeter beams. Around the 36-by-36-inch columns are 9-by-9-feet drop panels. For the 50-foot span, the drop panels are made continuous to form a slab band.

Resistance to lateral loads is provided by moment frames that include the flat slab, edge beams, and columns. In accordance with the governing code, the building is designed for an 80-miles per hour wind.

A 6,000-psi concrete mix was used in the columns up to the sixth floor, and a 5,000-psi mix was used above this level. To achieve higher early strength, 6,000-psi concrete was used in the floor slabs. This allowed a two- to three-day construction cycle for typical floors, even during winter months.

Similar to other projects of this type, overall cost drove the decision for the material utilized in the framing system.

This new concrete framed office building—constructed on time and under the original budget—is a cost-effective investment for both the city and state and will meet the needs of the workforce for many years to come.
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